


Temperamental [Chris x Reader]

by misho



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Chris is PROBLEMATIC, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, HOT TEEN GOSSIP, but then you turn into a badass, kind/sweet reader!, some characters won't die early on, you're also alicia's bff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-02 18:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18816538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misho/pseuds/misho
Summary: Stranded as an orphan, you only recently (and accidentally) found your best friend, Alicia Clark, but the group she was traveling with proved to be rather...differentiating. Your eyes are set on one boy in particular, but you run into a variety of issues along the way such as: dealing with exes, uncovering secrets from the past, making hard decisions, meeting some wackjob mavericks, and— oh, yeah— zombies.This fanfic will have minor changes to keep some of the characters alive and keep the story going. It will also have eventual smut in it, so keep that in mind.





	1. ➢ sympathizer

At this point, you couldn’t tell what was right and what was wrong anymore. You were in this constant battle of not being entirely sure of yourself. You felt as if the world was shaking beneath you and you were going to fall in a never-ending pit of despair. The first time you had killed, you swore to never kill again. Illness fell on your parents and you retained that promise, despite the fact.

A student merely scraping the surface of sixteen, you went to school in Los Angeles. You were always fond of the bright city lights, the way it sparkled and shone like an ocean under the night sky. You loved the chilly nights where you’d sneak out to clear your mind of any stress, you loved the hazy mornings where the sun drifted lazily across the blue sky. You loved how it beamed against the tallest buildings and drafted sharp shadows into an enveloping embrace across the simmering asphalt.

It was undoubtedly your favorite place on Earth.

Yet, the day it went dark was the worst day of your life.

Lights flickered out one by one. You stood somewhat off, standing on the far side mountains from the city. Although you were far enough away, you could still feel the cold settle in once all the lights turned off as a gradual plague had swept through the city-- and it had.

That wasn’t the last time you saw Los Angeles, either. You could recall the bilious memories of the smoke wafting in the air as aircrafts zipped through the night sky. They dropped bombs all over the city, causing earth-shattering explosions to rock the ground beneath you. You cried, and you cried hard that day, having locked yourself in your MINI Cooper with the static from the radio blaring in your ears.

You drove despite not yet having your license, but you knew enough to avoid any harm. The most shocking thing on the side of the road was the infected-- you didn’t have a name for them-- and you attempted to drive around them most of the time. That was until one of them quite literally caught you off guard and slammed into your windshield, shattering it completely. After that, you began on foot. You found a way to primarily avoiding the infected was to cake yourself in mud and dirt to mask your scent, so you did so and managed to survive amongst large herds. You felt like you never belonged anywhere you stopped.

Finally, you came across the coast. It would’ve been beautiful if it wasn’t going up in flames. When you had little to no hope left, a glimmer of light entered your life. Quite literally, too. After walking to the coast, you had found an oceanside mansion that seemed untampered by life. So, you decided to take advantage of the situation and rest there for some time. You were about to consider this place home when you were blinded on the living room couch from a strong glint coming from outside. If that wasn’t enough incentive, you heard slamming that rocked your whole body into waking up completely alert.

Sitting up, you felt nothing but fear sink in your stomach. You knew exactly what that sound was from, and you hadn’t heard it in a long time. The familiar slamming of car doors rang in your ears as you recalled the many times you waited for your dad to come home from work.

“Shit, shit…” You stammered, falling onto the floor in a flurry of fear and drowsy clumsiness. You sat up, your legs tangled in the blankets you had pulled from the bedroom. For some reason, you decided sleeping in the living room would be safer than being stowed away in a bedroom, waiting to get attacked. You kicked the blankets off from around your legs and you scrambled up, but it was too late.

“If anyone’s hungry--”

The black man who entered first stared straight at you. He had completely stopped in his tracks, frozen like a deer in headlights. He continued to look right in your eyes, causing goosebumps to run across your skin.

“I can… I can explain.” You mumbled lazily as if you hadn’t spoken in weeks-- which you hadn’t.

“Who…” He asked, as more people trailed in behind him. They stopped as soon as they also saw you. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m a traveler!” You rushed, trying to explain yourself as you rose your hands, defenseless. “P-Please, I’ll leave… just…”

The next person whose eyes met yours made your heart sink in your stomach. Your knees trembled as you inched closer, your eyes widening with realization.

“Alicia!” You gasped, looking at the brunette who seemed taken aback you had known her name. Her mother, Madison, instinctively moved in front of her daughter. “I- uhh…” You trailed away, pulling your sleeves up over the palms of your hands and wiping the mud off of your face. You must’ve managed to become somewhat decent because Alicia burst into a smile and ran at you, enveloping you in a big hug.

“Y/N! Wuh-- how are you… here?” She leaned back, realizing you smelled like the infected and your own reeking body odor. You laughed, pushing your hair out of your eyes to get a better look at her.

“I-I don’t… know… I just remember everything went dark… and so I went toward the coast.” You shivered, remembering those days and the ones before those.

“Y/N?” Madison inquired, drawing closer to her daughter and you. You nodded with a smile.

“Ms. Clark, hi.” You grinned, but you had to quickly stop because you realized you hadn’t brushed your teeth in a long while.

“Where are your parents?” She immediately asked, while everyone else sort of stood away from the rest of you. You looked down, your throat tightening.

“Taken by the sickness.” You replied, softly and extremely slowly.

“Oh my god.” She sighed, pulling you into a hug also. She held you close and you realized that she had been such a close second motherly figure in your life. You returned the hug, having thought once upon a time that you’d never receive such intimacy ever again.

When you were only in eighth grade, you met Alicia. She was this cool, popular girl that you always considered to be so much better than you. While she was kind of a brat at times, she proved to be a good person deep down. When you were just a new student in a big city school, she approached you and offered to show you around the school. You happily obliged. From there on out, you and Alicia became extremely close friends. You got to know her family, her secrets, almost everything about her.

“Who is this and why is she in my _home_?” The black man asked, a bit annoyed.

“This is Y/N. She’s Alicia’s friend.” Madison responded.

“Wait, can I please stay with you guys?” You asked timidly, your eyes darting to all the people in the room.

“No, no way.” He spoke again, shaking his head as he approached all three of you huddled up together. “We have no room, sorry.”

“Stop it, Strand, she’s only 16. She can’t fend for herself out there.” Madison angrily stepped forward, between you and the man named Strand.

“Clearly she can since she’s here now.” Strand said.

“Hey, hey, she’s just a kid.” Travis stepped in, and you beamed at him with such a big smile. You always adored Travis as a fatherly figure. You knew about his son and ex-wife, Chris and Liza, but you had never met them until now. There were also some strangers who you assumed they met after the apocalypse began.

Strand simply let out a long exhale of defeat and murmured something along the lines of “Fine. There are generators so you can take a hot shower. Also, stop getting mud all over my house.”

And you did just that. Alicia had packed extra clothes so she offered some of hers for you to wear. As you took your shower, you realized you missed this feeling of the hot water racing through your hair and on your skin. When you were finished, though, you dried your hair a bit before you wrapped a towel around yourself, stepping out of the bathroom. Right as you walked out, you bumped into someone who was walking down the hallway.

“Ah..!” You blurted, looking at who it was. The younger boy, Chris, who was still only 16 from what you knew, stared at you with big inquisitive eyes. “Sorry…” You mumbled. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“N-No!” Chris shook his head. “I’m sorry for running into you-- uh, you’re Y/N, right?”

“Yeah, and you’re Chris.” You nodded. This was getting kind of weird. You were just in a towel and Chris was trying to strike up a conversation.

“Well, it’s cool! I mean, to meet you. And have another kid my age.” He stuttered with a goofy grin. You laughed, pushing your hair behind your ear slowly and awkwardly. The world outside was literally up in flames and you and your best friend’s step-dad’s son were flirting casually. Had you known he was so cute, you would’ve done it much earlier.

“Eee-yeaaah.” You drawled, this time shifting your stance to be more casual and your gaze drifting from his. “I’m gonna go… get dressed..?”

Chris nodded suddenly, allowing you to pass next to him as the two of you quickly paced away from one another, both of your hearts thumping loudly in your chest-- almost your throat. As you entered the empty bedroom, you noticed the dark clothes placed neatly on the edge of the bed and you flung yourself onto it, groaning into a pillow. If nobody wouldn’t know any better, they would’ve assumed you to be an infected.

After you got dressed, you heard an immediate knock sound on the door. Turning to it, you sighed and approached it, turning the knob and swinging the door open just to see who it was. You nearly grunted dramatically as you saw Nick holding a tray of food. He didn’t seem too happy to see you, either.

“Scrounged somethin’ up for you.” He offered it out, trying to avoid your gaze. You glanced down at it; a bowl of rice and a glass of ice water. Taking it quickly from his hands, you glared back into his eyes.

“I thought I told you to stay away.”

“That was years ago--”

“No, Nick, listen.” You set the tray aside on a dresser, “I specifically said I didn’t want shit to do with you.”

Nick’s voice dropped low as he propped himself against the door frame, getting real close. “That was when the dead weren’t roaming the Earth. If we are going to be traveling together, we better get used to seeing each other more often.”

“Uhg.” You pushed him back, closing the door quickly and turning to your tray of food. Of course, you didn’t think it was poisoned, so you sat down on the bed and ate it all quickly in under than five minutes. You stared at the empty bowl and glass and set it aside, lying back on the bed. Another knock sounded at your door. You couldn’t bear to sit up, so you simply grumbled ‘come in.’

In walked Chris, holding a box of popsicles in his hands. He glanced at you.

“Are you alright?” He timidly asked, curiously looking at you.

“I’m fine!” You said, sitting up. “What’s that?”

“Popsicles. Strand had them in his freezer, you want one?”

“Sure, what flavors are there?” You grinned, standing up and walking up to him. He went through the different types of flavors and you chose your favorite, walking out with him to join Alicia who was already enjoying her favorite flavor. You all migrated to the deck, staring off to the sea and chatting casually.

“Look! Aaa!” Alicia said, sticking her tongue out to show off the colors the popsicle made her tongue turn. You giggled and did the same to her and even Chris joined in. For once, it didn’t feel like the end of the world. You were all acting almost just like normal teens would and it was so much better than what you had already been through.

You told Chris about your history with Alicia, which he seemed pretty interested in. Alicia, in the meantime, focused off on the horizon where the sun was sinking lower in the blue sky. She actually didn’t seem all too… there? What was she looking at? You didn’t get to see, since whatever it was had clearly disappeared from sight and now you were looking at Chris.

Chris’s adorable face was gleaming with delight as he listened to you talking. You couldn’t help but feel your ears grow hot as you realized he might be the only teenage boy left in the world. What if your choices were limited? What if he died? Would there be others? What about Alicia’s boyfriend, your old boyfriends, or even the boys you imagined marrying once upon a time? What had happened to them? Instead of this bubbly little feeling in your chest, it sank down into a pit that formed firmly in your stomach. What if you _were_ the last people on Earth?

_Crack!_

All three of you paused.

“What was that?” Alicia asked, seemingly more alert than either you or Chris. But neither of you replied as you were busy putting down your popsicles and racing out to the source of the sound. The distant ring of the gunshot wasn’t a familiar sound to you, but you knew it meant danger was close and whatever was happening down at the shore wasn’t good.

As a trio, the three of you raced out into the open air away from the mansion. The breeze was coming in from the ocean and stung your eyes with the salty wind. You winced but kept up with the other two, actually pulling ahead as you stopped dead in your tracks. Travis was standing over a woman, a gun nestled tightly in his hand, still trembling from the jolt backward from the gun. Madison was also shaking, her hands cupped over her mouth.

“What--” You were about to ask, but Chris let out a guttural scream of agonizing pain. You thought maybe he was hurt, but he simply stumbled down into the ground, bent over the corpse of his mother. You didn’t realize it was her until this very moment. He sobbed loudly, burying his face in her neck.

Alicia stared at Travis with wide eyes and he slowly paced away, Madison lingering before she trailed after her boyfriend fast, leaving the three of you with Liza. You immediately bent down, grabbing Chris and pulling him into your chest. Desperate, he clung to whatever he could. You knew he needed this the most, and you doubted his somewhat step-sibling Alicia would do this for him.

“Alicia, why don’t you take him back to the house?” You whispered to her, but Chris shook his head, bumping into your chin.

“No!” Chris said. “I don’t wanna leave her here--”

“Chris, listen to me,” You murmured, pushing him away from your chest with your palms against his shoulders. “you should go back inside, it’s getting dark and we can let Madison and Travis deal with this.”

“No, no, no!” He sobbed, shaking his head and keeping his gaze lowered so he wouldn’t have to look at you. You tugged him up with your arms but he reluctantly tried to drop his weight. Even still, you pulled him away from his mom seeing as he was vulnerable as a weeping mess. You managed to get him back into the house, but you noticed Strand and Nick were also gone so you assumed they went down to the shore also.

“Come on, Chris, cooperate with me.” You grunted, heaving him into the bedroom that you claimed temporarily. Pushing him down on the bed, he rolled over, clutching his stomach and continuing to snivel and whimper. Sitting down beside him, you let out a shaky sigh. The image of Liza’s bleeding forehead kept penetrating your thoughts, emerging despite being unwanted. You had to rub your eyes roughly to try to get it out but Chris’s sobs broke your thoughts and you rubbed his back comfortingly.

One thing you recalled was Alicia’s boyfriend before her last. He was this jerk that you never liked and you had warned her about his intentions, but she blindly walked into her own broken heart. You could remember the hours she spent crying in a pillow on your bed and the moments you held her, rubbing her back and even petting her hair. That was your strong suit-- being a sympathizer. You were passive and admittedly hadn’t killed many yet but you didn’t plan on doing it a lot anytime soon.

Oh, how quickly that could change… but you had no idea just yet.


	2. ➢ comfortable bond

It took a couple of hours of consoling for Chris to quieten down and when he did, he proved to be quite the crybaby. Your ears rang with his continuous sobs and snivels but you did not once leave his side, afraid of what he might do if he was left by his lonesome. Chris had himself wrapped up against a pillow, shuddering.

“Look,” You whispered, your voice softer than before, “I know how much it hurts to have your loved ones go.”

Chris glanced at you, peeking over the edge of the pillowcase, yet his dark and brooding eyes seemed much more innocent and sweet once he had been crying long enough.

“My parents were my rock.” You said, but you knew what you were saying was cheesy just a bit, “And seeing them infected… acting as if they didn’t know me… I felt helpless. I _was_ helpless. So much so that I ran away and I didn’t look back, I didn’t even have the courage to kill them.”

You felt shivers race across your spine as you recalled those flashing images you had so many nightmares about. Chris must’ve been able to see you were getting visibly upset and you felt his fingers trace your forearm. Although you hardly knew him, you were having such an intimate moment merely because you were one of the only ones who could really relate to him.

Of course, Alicia and Nick lost their father a little bit after you became friends with them, but that was _then_. This is now, when the undead roam the Earth and the world is cautiously teetering on the edge of madness. In this new era, you and Chris were completely alone. Your parents had succumbed to the infection, leaving the two of you more alone than before. But, you realized you had each other-- you _understood_ each other.

You couldn’t help having your heart hammer in your throat, though. You glanced down at Chris, who was thoroughly still pouting, and gave him a weak little smile.

“Ah-- hey,” You cleared your throat, trying to break the tension, “you probably want some alone time, I’ll let you be for now--”

Chris pulled you down into his arms, hugging you. But the position was rather suggestive as you were practically lying on top of him at this point. You felt your face heat up but Chris had his face buried in your neck.

“Thanks.” He gently replied. He wasn’t very talkative after the incident earlier. You were about to smile, laugh awkwardly and welcome him but somebody had just allowed themselves into the room. Walking in with confidence, Strand froze once he saw the two of you. He rose an interested eyebrow. You quickly pushed Chris, getting up off of him.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Strand murmured yet his tone sounded more like a question, “but we’ve got to pack up and leave by tonight.”

“What?” You frowned, looking at Strand. You didn’t know the guy, not one bit, but from how the others acted around him, they felt the same way. “We don’t get any time for a break?”

“No breaks.” Strand replied, his eyes dark. “I’m tired of waiting around, we need to get going. You can sleep one you’re on the yacht.”

Yacht, huh? You glanced at Chris from the peripheral of your view and saw that he was now sitting up but his expression was serious. Strand instructed you to pack lightly and so you complied, going ahead and parting ways with Chris before beginning to gather your very few items.

When you had firstly arrived here at this oceanside mansion, you felt overwhelmed with awe because not even your house in the suburbs of Los Angeles was this beautiful. So, you decided to stay there primarily because it seemed to be farther away from the herds of the infected wafting around and it was pretty secure-- until the actual owner showed up. All you had with you was a knife that belonged to your father, some cans of dog food, and a small bottle of water that you filled a lot of the time with dirty rainwater. Now, you had clothes, presumably shelter, and people who cared about you and vice versa.

As night fell, everyone was scrambling to gather their things together. Madison and Travis were on the beach while Nick, Strand, Alicia, Ofelia, and Daniel went to go get Abigail from the unforgiving tides far out in the coast. You offered to help Chris with Liza’s body. Before, though, you caught him sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

“Hey.” You muttered, grabbing his attention. He wiped his face quickly before glancing a little up at you and then back down at his feet.

“Hey.” He replied, echoing you. Sitting down, you rubbed his back.

“I know it’s hard but don’t forget that I’m here. We’re all here.”

“Thank you, Y/N. You’ve helped me more than anyone else here has.”

The genuine tone of Chris’s voice made you beam a smile at him before you helped him up and then picked up the blanketed corpse of his mother’s body. You lifted her up by the head and he took her legs and you both hauled her out onto the sand. As you were walking out of the house, a large crash sounded from behind you. Whirling to face the distant city, you saw it rising up in flames. The sight of it made your throat tighten. Crashing down and burning, the military was now bombing the city in regards of getting rid of any infected they come across. Engulfed in various hues of spiteful oranges and vicious reds, you could tell the world was slowing to a stop as everyone watched the world around them billow in black smoke.

“Quick, to the shore.” You told Chris, ushering him down the steps and towards the water. He carefully laid Liza down then turned around to get a better view of the city.

As you watched, you remembered all those childhood memories being eaten up by the greedy flames. The times you went to get ice cream with your father, the moments where you shopped for clothes with your mother, when all three of you visited a family cookout… everything was dying right before your eyes. Tears welled up in your eyes but before you could even realize you were crying, Chris wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer.

“You helped me,” Chris whispered in a low tone to where only you could hear, “and so I’ll help you too.”

You clung to him and cried.

But, things weren’t lasting long. Luckily, you watched Abigail glow with sudden brightness-- proving that the others were safely on the ship, but she wasn’t moving an inch. You figured that it would be too dangerous for such a big ship to come to shore, so you had to make do with the time you were being given.

“Move everything to the water!” Travis demanded and you obeyed, grabbing backs, packs, and even Liza’s body, all pulling it closer to the bank with Madison’s help. However, Chris froze as he stared up at the railing of the once-beautiful mansion. All four of you suddenly looked up with fear, watching the infected edge the railing, flinging themselves over the edge and onto the sandy seaside. Chris picked up a rock for self-defense and you moved behind him, trembling with fear.

“Chris, move back!” Travis tried to control his son, but Chris shook his head defiantly.

The infected were now filtering on the beach, stumbling around and gurgling grotesquely. The black and matted skin clung to their bodies and the stench was a mix of suffocating fumes wafting from the city and the corpses. You plugged your nose, tightly pinching it to avoid breathing it in-- but it was worse when you tasted in on your tongue. Coughing, you clung to Chris’s shirt from behind and he could feel the way you were shaking so violently. He knew you were afraid.

“Just stay back, alright?” Chris said.

“Don’t be a hero, Chris, you’ll get yourself killed.” You said, seriously but with a slightly joking tone. You knew he was going to defend you either way. And so, a fight broke out. Madison and Travis had their own struggles against the infected, swinging anything they could just to get out of their slimy grip. Chris helped Travis mostly, seeing as he was his father, but you felt a hand wrap around your ankle.

Screaming, you went down to the sand, feeling talon-like nails dig into your jeans. If you hadn’t worn jeans, you surely would’ve gotten scratched. An infected was now pulling on your leg, stretching it out as you tried to kick away, gripping fruitlessly at the sand. You cried, trying to become free but it was proving to be difficult.

Chris whirled on his heel and ran toward you but it was getting to be too late. The infected was now clawing at your leg and you were crying hysterically, jamming your boot in its face helplessly. He lifted the rock above his head before swinging it down onto the infected’s skull, crushing it within mere seconds. The grip on your ankle loosened and Chris bent down, pulling you aside and wiping your face, smearing foreign blood on your cheek.

“Hey, hey, calm down, it’s okay.” Chris murmured, trying to rock you back and forth but suddenly Nick was on the little motorboat, waving and yelling at the lot of you. Chris dropped the rock and it rolled a ways on the sand before he helped you up, pulling you to the pile of luggage on the sand. Everyone picked up at least two items and Travis hauled Liza’s body to the boat. As you all piled on, you checked your pant leg as the boat drove back to the yacht. Your pants seemed fine and your leg was just as pristine as ever. Sighing with relief, you tiredly panted and leaned against Chris, who was holding onto your arm.

You all managed to carefully board the swimming deck and you were going to help Chris with Liza’s body but Travis said he would deal with it and so the lot of you were headed off into the Pacific. As you were allowed to explore around the boat, Strand explained there were working showers in the State Rooms and to try not to use up a lot of the water. But, even as you looked out over the rail, you watched the world crumble into the raging fire. A part of you couldn’t bear to look back as you turned around and you didn’t. Walking down the stairs, you entered the main room and the dining room. You continued down more stairs and happened upon the two state rooms where large beds were inviting you. You sighed and sat down on the queen bed in the first room and you saw a familiar face knock on the door and enter the room.

“Hey, Chris.” You greeted, trying to pull a faux smile on your lips although it faltered and you just looked like an idiot.

“I just wanted to check to see if you were okay. Are you scratched?”

“No, no, nothing like that… I’m lucky I wore pants.” You laughed.

Chris sank down beside you but glanced at the bed. “We’re getting it dirty.”

“Wh-- oh! Are we? We should go take a shower, then.” You paused, “I-I mean, we should take… showers! Separately!”

Chris just laughed, holding back his adorable boyish laughter and keeping it to a low chuckle. He knew what you meant and he pulled you into a sudden and unexpected hug.

“Y/N, you have no idea how nice it is to have someone to hang out with.”

“I think I do.”

“Well, thank you anyways.” He mumbled, pulling away with a goofy grin, “Now go take your shower.”

Nodding to him, you decided to use the first state room’s shower. Walking into the bathroom, you noticed a multitude of personal items littering the counter yet the entire bathroom looked extremely clean and made you feel a bit jealous that a bathroom on a yacht was so much nicer than many you’ve been in. Stripping off your clothes, you inspected your body for bites or scratches but only found healing scars and scratches that came from rocks and just the general roughness of the world. After, you turned on the shower and began taking one. To be able to run your fingers through your hair damp with sweat was one of the best feelings you had ever felt.

Well, besides masturbating. But that’s beside the point.

As you scrubbed and lathered soap on your body, you emerged the shower shortly with a little white towel with “ABIGAIL” embroidered on the side. You thought about how narcissistic Strand might be to get a boat with the name imprinted literally everywhere, but your thoughts were interrupted as you were combing your hair and leaning close to the mirror.

_Knock, knock._

“Yes?” You gently called out.

“Hey,” The door clicked and it slowly opened. Chris was standing there, peeking in through the small slit in the door and opening it a bit more once he noticed you were somewhat clothes. “Strand said all the brushes and stuff were in here.”

“Oh, right!” You nodded, but your eyes trailed down… ever… so… slowly…

Chris was nearly stark naked but around his waist was an ABIGAIL towel and his black hair dripped wet with water. He must’ve taken a shower the same time you did. Walking into the bathroom and standing beside you, you tried not to stare at his chest or abdomen but you could hardly resist doing so. As you combed your wet hair, he also used a comb, sharing the mirror with you. Heart hammering in your chest, you really hoped Travis wouldn’t walk in at that moment.

“We’re safe now, for awhile.” Chris began, breaking your focus on his taut body. You glanced up and nodded nervously. “But we shouldn’t let our guard down.”

“You’re right.” You said, just trying to fill the silent air with something other than the washing of the sea outside.

“You have any idea where we’re going?” He asked.

“Nope.” You replied, popping the p. God, how stupid could you sound? You mentally slammed your head against the mirror. Now, you were taking advantage of the hair products and so was Chris. “Ooh, anti-frizz.” You giggled, leaning over and smearing some in his hair. He laughed and bumped you with his elbow.

“Come on, my hair doesn’t need that!” He grinned and took the bottle from your fingers, pouring a little into his hand and doing the same to you. “Can’t say the same about your rat’s nest.”

“Watch it, I’m a lady.” You pinched his side and he jerked away, biting his lip to avoid bursting out in laughter.

“Well, your hair gets awfully frizzy in this humidity.”

“Oh, sure! Bullshit!”

Chris, at this point, was laughing hard, covering his nose and mouth with the palm of his hand. Somebody else knocked on the door.

“Someone in there?” Called out Nick, who you could tell just by the voice. You grimaced and rolled your eyes, putting your index against Chris’s lips to keep him quiet.

“Yeah, just me.” You replied, winking to Chris. You could notice his cheeks visibly grew a bit darker with blush.

“Okay, we were given the crew quarters. That’s where we’re sleeping tonight. You too, Chris.”

Well, shit, that didn’t work out very well. You exchanged worried glanced with Chris and dropped your hand down by your side. You kept quiet as Nick walked away from the door, leaving the two of you alone.

“H-He’s not going to tell Dad, is he?” Chris stammered. You shook your head quickly, smiling and grabbing Chris’s hands.

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Nick later. Right now, though…” You began flirtatiously but you had smeared a whole wad of shaving cream in his hand. His blush faded quickly as he smudged it on your cheek, playing with you happily. You washed up and walked out, getting a change of clothes and changing in an empty room before walking out on the upper deck. You caught Nick there, who was sitting and staring up at the cloudy horizon.

“Hey.” You said, a little hostility edging your voice. He didn’t turn around, knowing you were already there by your footsteps. “Can we talk a moment?”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk to me.”

“Look, jackass,” You sat down beside him, causing him to look at you with a frown. “I know I said that-- I know, okay-- but that’s not the point.”

“You’ve come to talk to me about Chris and you.”

“Yeah.”

“You interested in him?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“I think a lot.” Nick leaned back. “Considering you two were in the bathroom together, in your towels, laughing at something.”

“No, no, listen. I may be interested but I don’t need you interfering.”

“I’m not going to get between you two.”

“That’s not what I mean by interfering. I mean by telling his dad what you saw-- or heard.” You corrected quickly.

“Oh, so now you think I’m a snitch?”

“I don’t give a fuck what you are, I just don’t want you telling anyone.”

“Why? You hidin’ something?”

“No.”

“Then there’s no reason for you to be worried.”

“Okay, maybe I am hiding something. But I’m warning you, don’t do anything stupid.”

“You know me, I do stupid things.” Nick said nonchalantly and with that, you stood up in a frustrated flurry. You couldn’t believe you were going to be sharing the crew quarters with that asshole. As you walked down the stairs, you met with Alicia and walked into the crew quarters, claiming bunk beds with one another. Once your head hit that pillow, you fell fast asleep.

But, you woke up early in the morning. Your body was accustomed to waking up shortly after daylight arrived. Nick wasn’t in his bed and Alicia and Chris were still sleeping. When you got up and walked into the dining room, the scent of coffee hit your nose and you were drawn to it. You made yourself a cup and ate a small breakfast with the food you took from the oceanside mansion.

As you walked out onto the lower deck, you saw Madison standing there watching everyone. Joining her side, you noticed she must’ve been a little scared at your sudden appearance but she calmed quickly and gave you a small little smile.

“Hey, how’d you sleep?” She asked softly.

“Better than ever. It’s so comforting to have people I actually know around me now.”

“I bet it must’ve been hard being alone all that time. I don’t know how you did it.”

“Me neither.”

You both stared off, watching the men on the swimming deck pull the motorboat onto the deck. Nick’s shirt was tied around his forehead and his back glistened with sweat, rippling with unknown muscles. You watched for a couple moments before you looked away, watching as Alicia exhaustedly approached you and her mother.

“Morning. Where’s Chris?” You nodded to her and she shrugged, rubbing her eyes and taking a sip of her hot coffee.

“He was up when I woke up, must still be downstairs.”

You paused and thanked her, patting her on the shoulder before walking back downstairs into the state room hallway. It was long and thin, making you feel a bit claustrophobic. As you knocked and entered a state room, you saw Chris sitting on the edge of the bed next to the body of his mother. You sighed.

“What’s the matter?” You asked him, sitting down and rubbing his back immediately to be supportive. He only glanced at you from the side of his eye and you cleared your throat. “Sorry, ‘suppose that was a dumb question.”

“I just miss her so much.” He whispered and you pulled him into a hug.

 

“I know, but Travis did what he had to do. Madison even told us that Liza pleaded for it to be done.”

“She didn’t have to die.”

“Chris, everything dies.” You were now stroking his hair. “She was bitten, it was inevitable.”

Chris looked hurt and it broke your heart to see him like this. Although, it only reminded you of yourself and how you acted when you firstly lost your parents. Now, you were hugging him tightly. You couldn’t bear to see the pain that resided in his eyes or the way he gripped your shirt as if he was threatening to cry again.

“Go out, go visit with some of the others. It’ll do you well to get out of here.” You whispered in his ear and he obeyed rather easily, standing up and walking out of the room. You were now sitting with Liza and you realized that you had do something quick for her. It wasn’t healthy for her to just be sitting around for Chris to see and touch. You knew something had to be done. So, when he left and walked up onto the lower deck, you emerged from the room and heard Madison and Travis talking in the room across the hall.

Knocking on the door, they allowed you in and you could tell they were just recovering from an argument. You sighed, feeling the tension slice into your voice as you tried to speak quietly, talking about Chris and Liza-- and a solution.

While you stepped out of the room, you walked up and noticed Chris was socializing with Daniel and even fishing with him. Smiling at his attempt of making friends, you then walked up more stairs and approached the wheel house where Strand was still seated. He knew you had approached, seeing as he was turned around in his seat and glanced up at you with a risen eyebrow.

“Hi, Strand.”

“You can call me Victor, you know.”

You looked to the side. “Uh, I’m alright. Anyways, what I came to talk to you about was the Abigail.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Oh— nothing! Nothing… just some concerns. Currently, we’re a moving target, especially at night with all of our lights visible from miles away.”

“Go on.”

“And I just wanted to suggest… maybe turning them off at night? We can keep everything else on and maybe some inside lights but keep most of them off so that we don’t look like a giant advertisement.”

“What if people attack and we can’t see them?”

“No, that’s not my point… we still won’t be able to see them if they’re outside the ship. What I’m saying is that if we turn off all of our lights and stop the engine, the yacht will be pitch black against the sky and the sea. Once daylight hits, we turn everything back on and continue moving.”

“That will delay progress. I don’t want to waste my time our here.”

“And I don’t want us to get killed.”

Strand stared at you thoughtfully. You were acting quite stubbornly and he finally sighed, nodding.

“We can try it.” He gave in, finally, to which you thanked him and hurried back off on deck. Later on, Madison told you about the incident you must’ve missed while you were downstairs with Chris. She warned you about Strand and how merciless and selfish he was, not allowing a whole boat of people on his ship. Yet, as you listened to her, you found yourself agreeing with Strand. You didn’t want to admit it aloud but the possibility of allowing a dozen or so strangers on the yacht didn’t seem like the brightest idea. But you stayed silent as you watched Madison rant and rave about how Strand was some heartless lunatic.

As you were now on the upper deck, you sat by yourself staring out on the horizon. By this point, you were completely surrounded by nothing but water. It was pretty, but you were feeling somewhat homesick. Unlike Travis, Chris, or even Madison-- you were weak. You _felt_ weak. You couldn’t kill the infected and you ran away at any chance you could. And this was the prime time to cry to yourself.

Someone interrupted.

“Hey.” Nick slurred in his nonchalant tone. You glared up at him immediately, shooting him a poisonous expression. “Jeez, don’t bite my head off yet.”

“I thought I told you to stay away from me.” You hissed, keeping your voice to a low minimum. You didn’t want to draw anyone else’s attention to this situation you kept between you and Nick for the entire time.

“Hey, hey, you approached _me_ last night. Now’s my turn.”

“You don’t just get _turns_.”

“I think we do. Anyways,” Nick cleared his throat quietly, “what were you and Chris doing last night?”

“None of your fucking business.”

“So, having sex?”

“No.” You rolled your eyes. “Do you just assume everyone has sex when they’re alone together?”

“It’s what I do, what, you don’t?”

“I told you, jackass, I’m a virgin.”

“So what?”

You felt slightly uncomfortable but you were beginning to bubble with anger. You always happened to end up like this when in a conversation with Nick.

“Well, Nick, not all of us are willing to sleep with a person that stoops extremely low to do so.”

“Yikes, below the belt, Y/N.” He grunted, making a pained expression. “That was uncalled for.”

“You lied to me. How else am I supposed to feel, Nick? Do you think I enjoyed being lied to? Being deceived? Besides, I was just 14, you were 17 at the time. Don’t you feel ashamed for that?”

“You were the one that approached me.” He was picking at his teeth now, clearly trying to get something out that was wedged between them. “Don’t start to put all the blame on me for something _you_ started.”

“And what about Gloria?” You were snapping at him now, cutting him off and making jerky movements to prove your anger was building. “You lied to her too but she never found out before she overdosed and turned into one of those things.”

“Hey!” Nick barked suddenly, making you flinch and scoot a couple of inches away from him quickly. He blinked and sighed, rubbing his forehead free from sweat and as if he was suffering from a massive headache. “Sorry, just… don’t talk about her like that. She was a good person.”

“I know.” You whispered as a reply, frowning. “But she made bad choices and it’s because of you.”

“Hey, Y/N!” Chris cheered, holding up a somewhat small fish in his hands as he jogged up the stairs. His expression changed once he saw Nick sitting there beside you but you completely ignored Nick in that moment.

“Wow, Chris, look at that!” You laughed, standing up and approaching him, leaving Nick by himself on the lounging couch. “How long it’d take for you to catch that little guy?”

“He’s not that little…” Chris pouted and you giggled, rolling your eyes.

“Sure he’s not, just… _petite_.”

“Says the shortie on deck.”

“Watch it.” You warned him, elbowing his side. “Come on, let’s fish together. You can teach me.”

“You don’t know how?” Chris rose an interested eyebrow. “Guess I’ll have to take you on as an apprentice fisherman then.”

“Guess so.” You replied as you followed him back to the lower deck where he was fishing solo now that Daniel was busy with Ofelia. Casting one glance back at Nick, you saw he was deep in thought and you assumed so were you-- considering the conversation you just endured.

* * *

“So, what was that earlier?” Chris pondered aloud, speaking to you. He was standing behind you, showing you how to cast the line.

“What do you mean?”

You were lying again and as much as you hated to do it, you couldn’t let this secret slip out.

“You and Nick.”

“What, you jealous?” You teased, casting the line successfully into the ocean. Glancing over your shoulder, you noticed his face was tinted somewhat red from either sun exposure or blush-- or both.

“N-No, just curious.” He cleared his throat awkwardly, returning to his own side which was formerly known as Daniel’s pole. “You looked like you were in the middle of a serious conversation.”

“Nooo, not at all.” You sighed heavily, “He was just curious what we were doing in the bathroom last night.”

“He didn’t tell Dad, did he?”

“Not from what I could tell. Besides, I don’t think Travis is absolutely doing to flip his shit if he finds out you were in the bathroom with me.”

“He’s overprotective.”

“It’s the end of the world, he has to be. The only concern I can see him having is if we’re actually having sex and we’re not.”

The awkward silence pursued. You almost wanted to blurt, ‘Want to?’ but you held back. Come on, it isn’t that easy! You can’t just say things out of the blue like that. You’d embarrass the poor boy until he was a puddle on the floor.

“Mm.” He mumbled, showing he acknowledged your statement. But you weren’t sure if he was altogether there. What was he thinking about, or better yet-- imagining about?

“When’s the damn fish gonna bite?” You grumbled, changing the subject rather roughly. Chris snickered and looked over at you, raising his eyebrows.

“You sure you’ve been fishing before?”

You thought a couple years back and nodded. “Yeah… I have.”


End file.
